This article has been updated with new times and locations for semifinal games
HILLSDALE COUNTY — Round No. 1 of the boys district soccer playoffs is in the books.
Hillsdale Academy and Jonesville both advanced to the district 57 semifinal round, being held on Monday, Oct. 13.
While two teams were able to move on to the semifinals, Thursday night’s game action did mark the end to the 2025 seasons for Will Carleton Academy and Hillsdale High School.
Colts take step towards six-peat
Hillsdale Academy defeated Will Carleton Academy, 8-0. The two local programs battled it out at Hayden Park. The home field atmosphere propelled the Colts past a Cougar team that didn’t want their season to end.
The Colts took a 3-0 lead at the half — some big defensive plays from the Cougars and saves from freshman goalkeeper Max Maier kept WCA fans cheering on their team.
The Colts were able to put the game away in the second half. Coach Neal Brady’s squad is looking to win their way to a sixth straight district title. The next leg of their postseason will be back at Hayden Park next Monday. They’ll match up with the Jackson Lumen Christi Titans. The Titans (5-13) beat Dansville 5-1 to advance to the semifinals. Game time is set for 5:30 p.m.
The Cougars lose two seniors — Jeremiah Gadelkarim and James Johnson. The two atheltes were dual sport, playing on the co-op football team at North Adams-Jerome. They end the season with a 6-9-1 overall record. The Cougars had a stretch during the season where they gave up just three goals across four straight wins.
Comets advance
It’s been a long time since Jonesville varsity boys soccer had a 12-win season, but coach Jeff Dice’s squad is making a clear statement that the program’s success is here to stay. They got that 12th win with a 2-1 victory over Leslie. Even facing an up-hill battle against a determined Blackhawks team, the Comets were able to get the job done to advance to the district semifinals.
“Sure, district games are tough, coach Dice said. “It doesn’t matter who you are, where you play. Guys are giving a little bit extra energy. We hung with it. We got an equalizer. My talk at halftime was just, ‘Hey guys, just keep playing soccer.’”
Landon Church got the first score for the Comets. Charlie Spencer scored on a penalty kick in the second half.
“They definitely played a lot harder than they did the other games,” senior captain Marshall Baker said of Leslie. “It was a lot closer, but I mean, they wanted it, we wanted it.”
A packed home audience cheered on the Comets as they improved to 12-6-1 on the season, their first winning season in over a decade.
“It’s good for the Jonesville community — we’ve had a long road back to competitiveness in our soccer program,” Dice said. “Part of that is just getting some kids out to play.”
Junior goalkeeper Kaleb Males believes the team could have done more against Leslie, but he was happy to get the win at home before they have to travel on the road for the semifinals.
“We played good, could have played better, but thank you everyone,” junior goalie Kaleb Males said. “Thank you to everyone for coming out.”
Coach Dice and the team look to make the most of this playoff. The program has been building towards this season the past few years, and they look to keep the run going for their nine seniors.
“The sad part is this group of seniors that we have, this group of nine seniors — man, if I could just have them for one more year,” Dice said. “They’re really starting to play good soccer.”
Jonesville takes on a Jackson Christian team that defeated Stockbridge 8-0 in the opening round of district play. The Royals (7-9-2) have aplayed a couple crossover games against common opponents this season. Like Jonesville, they lost to Hillsdale Academy. They lost once to Grass Lake before tying them at the end of the season, just like Jonesville. They also defeated Manchester and Michigan Center in shutout victories.
Jonesville plays at Jackson Christian, Monday, Oct. 13 at 4:30 p.m.
Hillsdale loses battle with Michigan Center
Hillsdale leaned on the home crowd at Baumgarten Stadium to help fuel their chances at taking down a tough Michigan Center squad. The Cardinals were able to survive a 1-0 final to advance past the Hornets.
Athlete of the week nominee and senior goalkeeper Tydan Bible helped keep the Hornets within play with a second-half shut down of the Cardinals, but the first half goal was enough to end the season and the careers of several Hornet seniors.
Seniors Kelton Philipp, Bible, Robert Garcia and Jonathan Tomasello all played their final game in the blue Hornet uniforms. It was also the end of the Hornet careers for exchange students Meebun Siriplubpla and Muhammad Rustmaov. Hillsdale looks to continue to build under coach Chad Spratt — with next year’s squad returning playmakers including Aaron Torres, Austin Holden, Ty Spratt, Quinn Scott, Malachi Coe, Kaiylar Cimbal and Sebastian Strecker.
